CFL News

For regular attendees at CrossFit London and CrossFit SE11, it has been common knowledge for some time that the prices across the business will be going up. The last increase was made in 2013 and since then we have seen enormous increases in rent and business rates, although we have done all we can to avoid passing those costs onto our valued members. However, the simple fact is that the gyms, at present, do not generate enough income to meet the required level of renewals, much less allow us to keep coaches’ earnings in line with inflation or repay any investors capital. As such, the prices need to go up.
We are conscious that you want to see your money well spent on improving the service that we offer. At SE11 this reinvestment has been more apparent with the brand new rig and new shop going up over the last year. At CFL, the build for our new premises is well underway and, in spite of a delay caused by the snow, we very much hope to be moving in in May.
Below is the outline for the new pricing structure. For some of you it will be a welcome change with the introduction of Unlimited packages. For others, it may mean that you aren’t able to attend as frequently as you currently are. We have aimed to stay as competitive as possible (and if you check the nearest alternative CF facilities, you will find we are still cheaper in general), but as I said above, prices need to go up or we can no longer run a viable business.
The focus of the new prices is on the monthly memberships; they will work out much cheaper than the class packs (previously ‘carnets’) and the monthly packages are where we would hope our members choose to invest their money. The 10 and 50 class packs are still available in the new pricing structure as we are aware there are a lot of members who are less flexible with their time and can’t commit to monthly packages.When
Price change will come into effect from May 1st 2018. At this time all the new prices and discount restrictions will come into effect. The 50 session carnet at the old price is no longer available to purchase, but all the other carnets and memberships will be available at their current price throughout April.
There is also an Earlybird Unlimited discount for anyone who signs up for a 6 month Unlimited contract in April (details below).Class packs
Single session: £20 (valid for 30 days)
10 session pack: £140 (£14 p/class for 10 weeks)
50 session pack: £600 (£12 p/class for 50 weeks)Monthly memberships (month-by-month)
Monthly 3x sessions p/w (13x sessions): £150 (£11.54 p/class)
Monthly Unlimited: £185 (Earlybird offer: £175 sign up for a 6 month contract in April 2018)
Monthly Unlimited bolt-on PT session: £40 (£225 total)Fundamentals
4 sessions: £120
8x Fundamentals PT session: £440 (£55 per session)Discounts
All NHS/Student/Emergency Service/Armed Forces discounts will be set at 10% and only applicable to the 10/50 class packs (discounts previously set at 15% will be reduced to 10%). They will not apply to singles sessions, monthly packages, Fundamentals, Contracts or PT sessions.Earlybird Discounted Contract
The Earlybird Unlimited memberships constitutes a contracts with CFLDN UK. The contracts last for 6 months, during which time your contract price is guaranteed to stay at £175.
The contracts are paid on the sale date of each month. If you wish to cancel out, you must notify us at least one month in advance by email before the date you would like to be the final payment (e.g. if your payment date is the 15th, you must notify us on or before the 14th).
You can buy into the contract in April and May by going to the online store > contracts. The initial purchase date will be the date your 5 other payments will come out. The unlimited classes will start on the same day as the purchase and last for 6 months. You cannot defer the contract start date beyond May.
If you choose to cancel out, you will be subject to any price rises that have occurred in the interim.
Terms and conditions apply.(This offer has been extended to run through May)Moving forward
We understand that price increases are never a welcome change, but as mentioned above, the prices need to go up, or we close down. We have endeavoured to be as fair and reasonable as possible with these increases, and wanted to make sure that every member was warned well in advance.
Please keep a close eye on the Facebook groups and blogs for updates on the new gym in Bethnal Green and the ongoing renovations at SE11 to see where your money is being spent.
If you have any problems, questions or concerns please feel free to contact us at support@crossfitlondonuk.com.
Kind regards and happy training,Your CrossFit London & CrossFit SE11 Team

You can’t have helped but notice that the 2018 CrossFit Open is just around the corner. Here’s what you need to know about the 2018 Open at CrossFit London.When?
The CrossFit Open runs for 5 weeks from Feb 22nd to Mar 26th. The WODs are released very early on Friday mornings and you have the weekend to complete them.
As previous years, Friday evenings will play host to the main event Open WODs. There are two slots to book into, an early and a late, but as per usual timings are at the mercy of Dave Castro and whatever he programmes. Don’t worry, we can be flexible if you need to arrive early or leave late.
Can’t do Friday? Not to worry, this year, we will have coached Open Gym slots throughout the weekend, which will be able to book into any of those to complete the workouts (or just use as you normally would if you don’t want to do the Open). At CFL, the Open Gym slots are all in 10 MP so lines on the floor won’t be an issue. The coach on duty will see to it that everyone is properly judged.
As there is no Open Gym slot on Friday morning (and we know a lot of you like to get it done out of the way and away from the big Friday night crowd), Kyle’s Fri 7:30am WOD class in 10 MP will be the only other Open WOD class on the schedule.
If you can’t make Friday nights or the Open Gym slots, the coaches will be available to book for special 1-2-1 PT sessions for £20 per workout. They will take you through your own mobilisation, warm-up, strategy, and coach you through the workout as they judge at a time which is convenient to you.
(NB: Friday’s Heavy Metal Club has been moved to Wednesdays at 19:30, so you can continue to follow the HMC programming and do the Open)Final Friday and Social
As ever, the final Friday on 23rd March will finish with a social, awards and probably beer-pong, This year’s (totally optional) theme is ‘Drag Queens’ – or ‘Cross-dressing-Fit’.
We’re currently looking for a venue to move onto afterwards. More on this later.Teams
Last year, you were sorted into teams. This year, your coaches will head up their own Tribes (sorted at random when you sign up).
If you sign up for CrossFit London, Mike, Joe, Kyle and Carolyn will lead teams (team names at coach discretion). To be part of a team you will need to be signed up for the Open on the Games Website, but you do not need to be signed up on the Games website to participate (you just need to book into the workouts).
Or if you sign up for SE11, Nick, Juan and Tim will lead teams.Prepping for the Open
Between now and the 23rd February keep an eye on the blog and the Facebook group for news, updates, tips, and special events.
Email support@crossfitlondonuk.com if you have any concerns or questions.

Hopefully you’ve all had a chance to download our shiny new programming app called TrainHeroic. The reason we are investing a lot of money into Trainheroic is simple. It is one of the best user interfaces and most complete training apps on the market today. Mike has used this personally for almost two years and highly recommends it.

The purpose is not an online leaderboard. Although many of you may wish to use it for this function, the purpose is a more complete training diary. When you open the app there will be a section on coaches notes. This indicates the intended stimulus of the day. As members of a CrossFit gym, it’s very easy to get lost in the super high intensity and the number or reps completed. This is not how you get fitter.
Although this may blow a lot of people’s brains across the room, any training method has to be sustainable and if you come in and crush yourself day in day out, you will be gone within 16 months. That’s not a random statistic, that’s the average lifetime (fitness lifetime, you’re not going to die) of someone who undergoes high intensity training everyday.
The app has a section after you put in your numbers for the day whereby you can record how it felt, what went wrong and more importantly, what you learnt from the session. If you did not learn anything from the session, I won’t hesitate to ask why you’re here and not at fitness first. This means that you should be able to hold your coaches accountable for learning something, but it also means we get to hold you accountable for not performing bad reps, and wanting to improve.
Going forwards there will be a higher standard that you will be held to in your fitness endeavours and this app is to help you track and look back at your history.
You will see a section for numbers, please fill in everything that you know going forwards and for those that know their personal bests already, fill those in as well.
IF you do wish to use the leaderboard function, please make sure you are entering your data accurately, for a lot of people the leaderboard is not important but for those who take the competitive side seriously it can be upsetting when someone accidentally enters their data wrong.
Above all, remember that you are here to self improve, wanting to simply beat the person next to you over and over is just a desire to inflate your ego. Focus on yourself and build up the people around you.
That being said, we are going to be changing the way we deliver the WOD to you daily. As of Monday the 5th of February, you will be receiving an email directly into your inbox with that day’s training. We will be stopping the daily WOD Blog and the weekly spreadsheet in the FB group as we want you all to use the app. There will always be a minimum of one week’s programming uploaded in advance so if you need to plan out your week you will still have the opportunity to do this.
If for any reason you do not want to receive emails or push notifications you can flick the “Leave Me Alone” button in the Account > Privacy section of the app:

This is the one you’ve been waiting for! Those of you who attended the Christmas party will have already had a heads-up, but we have actual, tangible, genuine progress with the new gym.
It took 18 months’ of negotiations, but the new lease has finally been signed and works are underway at Cudworth on the renovations of our new location. If all goes well (no more squatters, leaks, interference from Network Rail, etc.) we should be all ready to move in by May!
I’ll post more updates as and when I have them, but for now I’ll let the pictures below speak for themselves.
Stage one: clear out all the junk.
Stage two: sandblasting all the brick. Nomore rusty cladding.

Looking to start with CrossFit London UK in Bethnal Green, London E2?
Check out our fundamentals process. The ideal way for a beginner to start.
If you have any other questions then you should be able to find the answers on the website but if you’re still stuck you can email me here.

It’s been a year since my last post on this issue, and I can only apologise for the severe absence of information since then.
Over the last year we have been in negotiations with Network Rail over our new lease and progress has been glacial (though not for a lack of trying on our part). At the time, it didn’t seem relevant or necessary to tell our members that “no progress has been made because of *insert tedious and seemingly insignificant construction detail* .” In retrospect, however, bad news would have been better than no news, so apologies for not having updated you sooner.
But, the upside of this all is that progress has at last been made! In principal, all the terms of our new lease have been agreed (this is what the last year’s worth of negotiations have been about) and we are just waiting for confirmation and then to take possession of the arches. We expect this to happen before Christmas.
On the new site, works are underway to restore power to the arches so that building can start. This means digging new trenches from the mains to the archways, which will take a few weeks. Additionally, Health & Safety and Construction Design and Management Regulators have been instructed to start their surveys, Architect plans have been finalised, and the Project Manager has been given build deadlines.
In short, assuming we can take possession of the new premises in the next 2-3 weeks, the first phase of the works (which is sandblasting the brick walls of the new arches) can start shortly thereafter, and we would expect to be operational by May!
At the moment it’s all fingers and toes crossed, as I said something astonishingly similar this time last year and here we are, still in Malcolm Place.
As soon as I have more information to pass on, I will do, and in the meantime please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about the move.

As is our tradition, the workout this Sunday 12 November will be the classic CrossFit WOD “Murph”.
There are two sessions to book into for ‘Murph” this Remembrance Sunday; 10.30 and 12:00. Both sessions are 90 mins in length, to give everyone a chance to complete the WOD:
‘MURPH’
For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run
Wear a weighted vest. Break up reps into any order.
NB all scaling/subs options are available: ring rows for pullups, rowing for running etcIn memory of Navy Lieutenant Michael Murphy, 29, of Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in Afghanistan June 28th, 2005.
In addition, we would ask everyone who is available to attend a ceremony at the Memorial in Bethnal Green gardens (outside the library). The ceremony starts at 10.45. We will also be observing 2 minutes silence at 11:00 at the gym

Below is a think piece, ‘Service and Sacrifice’, by Andrew last year.
“On Sunday we once again reschedule our CrossFit morning classes to honour those people who gave their life so we might live in freedom.
Remembrance can be viewed as both positive and negative. What we try to focus and reflect on is service and sacrifice.
It is easy to romanticise warfare and violence: Hollywood does that. But few people want to emphasise the day-to-day services and sacrifices that effective people do in effective relationships. Too often what eludes us is good old-fashioned respect: for ourselves and others, consideration , empathy, duty and the ability to work hard. (I prefer working effectively, but I hope you see what I’m getting at).
This Sunday, as you remember the sacrifice our (often young) people made at the cost of their lives; commit to making day-to-day services and sacrifices yourself.
Service and sacrifice are not emotional, showy things. They are often done away from the glare of public adulation. Every time you vote, support your colleagues, cherish your partner, help your friends, and act with compassion toward a stranger: you genuinely honour their sacrifice.
Be your own, walking, daily memorial. Serve and sacrifice. ” By Andrew Stemler

Get the CrossFit London 2017 designs as a hoody. Choose a favourite designs, and get it as a zip-up or pullover hoody, in up to five garment colours!
Designs are favourites SKULL, GRYPHON and STRONGFEST. Each has a large design on the back, and a smaller version to front left breast.
Garment colours include BLACK, NAVY, FADED DENIM, MELANGE GREY and CLARET. (NB not all colours are available for all sizes/styles. Please check when ordering)
These exclusive, limited – edition hoodies are available for pre-order at Print Social; please follow the links. As usual, a minimum of 5 pre-orders needs to be received before the hoody will definitely go to print. So don’t delay! Order your favourite design in a colour you like – or grab them all! Hurry, it’s only available for 4 weeks.Click here to pre-order your SKULL HOODY!Click here to pre-order your GRYPHON HOODY!Click here to pre-order your STRONGFEST HOODY
To see all our Print Social campaigns, go here

Starting next week, you’ll be seeing some changes in the CrossFit Level 2 programming. Don’t worry, there isn’t going to be a radical overhaul; we’re just simplifying and returning to the basics. We are doing this because CFL offers a wide range of specialty classes. These speciality classes can be organized into three main categories: weightlifting, gymnastics, and metabolic conditioning. We offer some hybrid classes, too, such as Competition Focus, Benchmarks, and Heavy MetCon, but in general, they all focus on one of these three domains. So where does this leave our CrossFit Level 2 class?

The main focus of the CrossFit Level 2 class at CFL is general physical preparedness (GPP). The class is intended to be the basis of your training, giving you the opportunity to then specialise based on interest, training needs, or sport specific training. Therefore, our intention in each and every class is for you to learn a cool skill, build your strength, and have a hard, yet fun, WOD.

CrossFit separates itself from other high intensity training methodologies in that it requires skill acquisition. If you are just starting CrossFit at CFL, we will automatically direct you to our CrossFit Level 2 class, which will help you to acquire the necessary skills and strength as you develop your metabolic conditioning. After several months, you may find that you need to go on a strength programme or improve your Olympic Lifting to increase your performance in the main class. In these cases we would direct you to our specialty Powerlifting, Olympic Lifting, or Heavy Metal classes, which follow periodised strength programmes. Alternately, you may find that your gymnastic strength or skills lag behind your weightlifting ability, in which case, we’d direct you to our large array of gymnastic classes. What separates us from other gyms is that you have the freedom to tailor your training to your specific interests and needs.

Therefore, we have come up with the WEEKLY blueprint below for our CrossFit Level 2 classes:

Strength/Skills:

2x Gymnastics skills/strength/complex

2x Olympic lifting strength/complex/technique

2x Barbell Strength

Other day will be taken up by longer WOD

WODs:

1x Benchmark (rotated on schedule)

1x Longer WOD

A good variation of AMRAPs, EMOMs, for time, for reps/intervals, for quality etc.

1x Partner WOD

Variation in time domains, rep schemes and weights

Not have more than 2-3x repeat movements unless for a specific reason

Rest Days:

Rest days are crucial in allowing you to recover, make gains, and avoid injury. As a gym, we encourage you to take rest days as you need. As we are based in London, with many busy clients working off their own schedules, we run a rolling programme with no rest days. This means that it’s up to you to plan out your training. We have endeavoured to randomise the programme such that, for example, if your schedule requires that you can only train every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you’ll be getting a diverse array of movements and WODs. Every Monday, therefore, will not be a squat day or a “long WOD day.” As ever, all our coaches are at hand to help you structure your training and rest based on your goals.

RX/Scaled: What does this mean?

RX is a term used by doctors in the US to prescribe medicine. In CrossFit, it means the athlete performs all modalities using the prescribed weight and reps. In practice, the RX weights or reps are what we expect our top athletes to be able to perform. Depending on your sporting background, it could take a year, two, or longer to reach this level. We will also provide a “scaled” guideline. These weights are a benchmark for athletes who have the basic skills, technique, and strength to complete WODs efficiently and safely. Depending on each athlete, it could take somewhere between 0-6 months to reach the scaled weights/reps/movements. You may find yourself stuck between Scaled and RX in some WODs and this is perfectly fine. The more you train and discover your athletic capabilities, the sooner you will find where you lie. Our coaches are on hand in every class to help guide you in this process.

It goes without saying that the above follows a common sense policy. You may find that not all the above criteria are met, and that could be due to many different variables and factors. For example, in the run-up to The Open we might have Open-specific training, and then other months we may have little challenges to keep everyone on their toes. So be on the lookout for these developments! Keep in mind, if you attend our CrossFit Level 2 class consistently, you will increase your work capacity across broad time and modal domains.

Another batch of noble beginners, decided to kick their training up to another level by starting their level 1 classes, where, uniquely in a group format, Crossfit London teaches you all those “difficult moves” that leisure centres avoid, using a step by step method mixed with lots of kindness .
Often, difficult to master ground based moves, are limited not by flexibility but by balance. In our classes we get our clients to start working on the balance problems with safe, effective, supportive drills , that work. In 1.1 we look at the air squat, the front squat and overhead squat, along with a bit of hanging work such as basket hangs and toes to bar . Along the way we start to discuss some of our abbreviations like WOD ( Work Out of the Day) and AMRAP ( As Many Rounds as Possible) and start introducing you to moving around the gym ( actually called a Box) safely.
Here is a useful drill that fixes your squat

Most sessions end with a mini WOD, but its not set to be challenging, merely a light rehearsal of newly learned principles. In our sessions we focus on teaching skill, so whilst a flexibility drill may feature we don’t waste 15 minutes of your time on aerobic warm ups and endless stretching . We use the skill progression to warm you up for the full range of motion skill you are about to do. Jogging around is a great warm up if you intend to run. Squat drills are the best warm up for squatting. Long term , for those serious about flexibility, we have some fantastic flexibility classes that really push your range of motion along.
So get some serious skills and join our beginner classes now